Sherdog.com confirmed the news Saturday morning with M-1 Global
Director of Operations Evgeni Kogan, who verified that Emelianenko
will call it a career in order to spend more time with his family
and watch his daughters grow up.

Emelianenko wasted little time in dispatching the former three-time
UFC title challenger at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg,
Russia, blitzing Rizzo with a punch combination that toppled the
Brazilian before relieving him of his consciousness with
ground-and-pound. The result marks the third consecutive win for
Emelianenko, who previously notched victories over Jeff Monson
and Satoshi
Ishii to close out last year following a 1-3 stretch in the
Strikeforce
cage.

After the fall of the Japanese organization in 2007, Emelianenko
joined the short-lived Affliction promotion after negotiations
between his management and the UFC faltered, finishing former UFC
champions Tim Sylvia in
2008 and Andrei
Arlovski the following year in what would be Affliction's
second and final show.

Emelianenko, 35, retires without ever competing in the Octagon.
Though the Russian sambo practitioner's management again engaged in
negotiations with the Las Vegas-based promotion following
Affliction's collapse, the parties could not come to terms and
Emelianenko signed with then-rival Strikeforce, whose officials
were willing to co-promote events with M-1
Global. After knocking out Brett
Rogers in his first Strikeforce appearance, Emelianenko was
finished by Fabricio
Werdum, Antonio
Silva and Dan
Henderson before receiving his release last year.